iLand Resilience - coordinated regionally by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Article reproduced courtesy of the Government of the Virgin Islands

Friday, September 1, 2017 —
Virgin Islands: Community residents have credited the drainage project financed under the iLAND Resilience Climate Change Project with saving the lower section of Cane Garden Bay Road during the recent flood of August 7.

That section of road was entirely destroyed during the 2003 flood event.

The drainage solution forms part of a larger package of work occurring in Cane Garden Bay to increase resilience to climate change.

This section of the project was implemented at the final bend near the base of Cane Garden Bay Road where a minor road intersects with the main road. It was completed in late July, 2017 on time and on budget. The purpose of the drainage project was to enhance the ability of the existing drainage system to intercept storm water from the main road which merges on to the minor road.

The drainage solution was designed by the Public Works Department and constructed by Quality Construction and included a headwall to enhance an existing drain along the main road, resurfacing of a section of the minor road, and construction of a swale (a U shaped drain) along the minor road to direct water into a box drain under the main road.

Ms. Nibbs, a resident neighbouring the project, relayed that the development came just in time.

“There was a river of water running down the side road. The swale really helped to direct the water to the drain under the main road and protect it. The road was fine after the flood; a complete contrast to 2003" said Ms. Nibbs.

The backbone of the work under the iLAND Resilience Project is a hydrology and coastal dynamics study of Cane Garden Bay and Brewers Bay, the results of which are actively being used to design projects to improve coastal water quality and address coastal erosion and flooding in sections of both communities.

Other works being implemented in Cane Garden Bay under the umbrella of the project include the rock revetment sea defence and a retrofit of the Sewage Treatment Plant. A major road drainage project is also being implemented along Brewer’s Bay Road East that leads down to the Brewers Bay Community Centre.

Minister for Natural Resources and Labour, Dr. the Honourable Kedrick Pickering expressed satisfaction with the works, and said he recognised the need for “additional work to improve drainage and solve flooding problems in the immediate area.”

Meanwhile, Climate Change Officer, Ms. Angela Burnett-Penn said she was pleased that the simple drainage solution implemented had such a major impact.

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The iLAND Resilience Project on Climate Change Adaptation and Sustainable Land Management is funded through the European Union Global Climate Change Alliance and is coordinated regionally by the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The Ministry of Natural Resources and Labour, in partnership with members of the Climate Change Committee, is responsible for managing local project implementation.

Other activities being implemented under the project include development of a comprehensive Environmental Bill, Land Policy and National Physical Development Plan (NPDP), enhancement of administrative provisions to support the Building Code, and development of the Climate Change Trust Fund’s Operational Manual.

The project also supported acquisition of a weather station and GPS devices to support monitoring work related to climate change. More information about climate change response in the Virgin Islands is available at http://bvi.gov.vg/climatechange

About The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has ten members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Martinique.